Comb



T. McK. NOYES.

APPLICATION 3.:DBIAUG.4, 192!- I 1,896,275, I PatentedNov. 8,1921.

f WWW l 9 I A 3 3 Fig.1

INVENTOR Thomas /7c/ Noyes ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS MCK. NOYES, OF .BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO NOYES COMB COMPANY, OF BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEXV YORK.

COMB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

Application filed August 4, 1921. Serial No. 489,761.

ing at Binghamton, county of Broome, and

State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCombs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to dressing combs, and is in the nature of an improvement in the construction and arrangement disclosed by United States Patent No. 531,468, issued to Joseph P. Noyes, under date of December In the manufacture of combs from the horns of cattle, there has heretofore been an objectionably large waste of both material and labor. Part of such waste has arisen because of breakage of combs during processes of manufacture and resulting from defects in the material or from unskilful or careless handling thereof during the cutting 'of teeth therein. The greater portion of such waste of material has arisen because of the fact that, even in the case of large horns, after cutting the stock as economically as possible for the production of one piece combs therefrom, there remains many smaller pieces of material which would be available for the production of two or three piece combs. In the cases of smaller horns, the proportion of such waste material to that which may be utilized for one piece combs is greater than in the case of larger horns. v

For many years the cost of horns has been gradually increasing and, because of the I general practice of dehorning cattle, it has become commercially impracticable to se-' cure anadequate supply of the largerlsizes of horns which were formerly obtainable in abundance. For these reasons, the utilization of portions of broken one piece combs as well as pieces of material which aretoo small to be available for the production of one piece combs has become an increasingly pressing problem to manufacturers of horn combs, and the prior patent hereinbefore referred to .well exemplifies the efforts which have heretofore been made toward the utilization of such pieces andmaterial in marketable combs.

In such prior patent means was disclosed for utilizing two pieces of toothed material in manufacturing a single comb, which means comprised a band passing between contiguous teeth ofabutting ends of such two pieces and passing outside of the metal back of the comb. As pointedout in such prior patent, a band so passing outside of the comb back is generally considered unsightly, and the-sale of such combs has been greatly curtailed because the presence of such bands is rarely tolerated by purchasers other than when such bands are utilized for the further purpose of providing attaching means for a retaining chain or cord.

But a very small proportion of the total number of combs sold are utilized in public wash rooms, or the like, where the use of retaining means is necessary or desirable, and it has been observed that combs having such fastening means are avoided for use other than in such public places, not only because the possession of such combs may be facetiously or maliciously characterized as indicatingtheft thereof from some public wash room, but for the further reason that combs so equipped are less convenient to use or carry in a pocket or traveling bag, occupy more room, and will be more likely to catch on and injure surrounding objects. For the foregoing and other reasons the sale of combs embodying the disclosure of said prior patent has been, in effect, restricted to purchases for use in public wash rooms, and the like; hence, it has been impracticable to profitably utilize more than an insignificantly small portion of the pieces of combs broken during manufacture and of the comparatively small pieces of horn material which are left over after making one-piece horn combs.

The object of this invention is to provide a comb comprising two or more toothed pieces so joined that said pieces will not be permitted to appreciably alter their relative positions in consequence of shrinkage, in

- which the joints will be so covered that the Figure 1 1s a side viewof a completedcomb embodying this invention;

in intended Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the comb of Fig. 1, with a portion of the metal back broken away to disclose the formation and arrangement of the parts thereunder Fig. 3 is an enlargedcross section of the comb of Fig. 1, taken on the line 3-3 thereof; and,

Fig. dis a fragmentary view of the toothed edge of thecomb of Fig. 1.

The comb shown .in Fig. 1 comprises the toothed pieces A and B, which pieces are mounted in the metallic back G, and the abutting ends of which pieces are retained relative positions by the connector D. I

As best'indicated by Figs. 2 and 3, both sides of the backs of the toothed pieces A and B have grooves formed lengthwise thereof, such as the grooves E shown in Fig. 2, for receiving the edges of the metal back piece C. The metal back piece C will .give best results when made of a somewhat resilient material (such as, for example, spring temper sheet brass) so that anticipated shrinkage of the toothed pieces will be so followed up by the edges of said back as to avoid disengagement therefrom. The connector D has openings, such as the openings 7 and g, for snugly receiving the teeth at the adjacent ends of the pieces A and B, and said connector is closely formed around the backs of. said toothed pieces, as best shown byFig. 3. j 7

When the back-C is applied to the toothed pieces A and B, the portions of the edges of the piece C which engage the connector D press the sides of said connector into the grooves E formed in the sides ofthe toothed pieces A and B, as best indicated by Fig. 3, and such engaging edges of the back piece C will be sprung somewhat apart where engaging the sides of the connector D, as best illustrated by Fig. 4:. T

If adequate pressure is applied to the edges of the back C during the assembly of the comb, as just described, the edges of said back C will be closely fittedfinto the grooves E and over the connector D so as toprovide a very neat and satisfactory appearance,

and so that there will be .no sharp edges or interstices .suchas would tear or catch upon the hair of a user.

Although I have shown but two toothed pieces, it will be apparent tov those skilled .in this art that three or more such pieces may be similarly joined, and that this inventio'n may be readily employed for joining a coarse end tooth of a piece such as the piece A with a fine end tooth such as the fine teeth of the piece B or for joining two such fine teeth, as well as for joining two coarse teeth as shown.

In Figs. 2, 3 and 4 the thickness of the conductor D and the distortions of the con tours of the various pieces are somewhat exaggerated for purposes of illustration. In

practising this invention, it should be'underbe most readily pressed into the grooves E when said back is made of comparatively thin material. V 7 I What Iclaim and. desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States of Amer- 10a 1s: I

1. A comb comprising,abutting pieces the adjacentxends; of each of which pieces are toothed and the backs of which pieces are channeled to receive the edges of a metal back; "in combination with a connector engaging the teeth of such adjacent ends, en-

gaging the sides of the backs of said pieces and entering the channels formed therein; and a metal back inclosing the backs of said pieces and the ends of said connector, the edges of said back being'so formed as. to snugly engage the channeled portions of the backs of said pieces where not covered by said connector and to pass outside of the portions of said connector which engage said channels and thereby force said connector portions somewhat into said channels.

' 2. A comb comprising,-abutting pieces the adjacent ends of which pieces are toothed and the backs of which pieces are channeled I to receive the edges of a metal back; in combination with a connector engaging teeth of such adjacent ends, engaging the sides of the backs ofsaidpieces and entering the channels formed therein; and a metal back in-' closing the backs of said pieces and the ends of said connector, the edges of said back being so formed as to snugly engage the channeled portions of the backs of said pieces where not covered by said connector..

' 3. A .comb comprising-abutting pieces the ad acent ends ofeach of which pieces are channeled to receive the edges of a metal back; in combination with a connector consistingof a strip of comparatively thinsheet metal so formed as to cover the joint between and to engage teeth of said adjacent ends so as to maintain intended spacing therebeare toothed and the backs of which pieces V 125.

tween, and to engage the channels of said of such adjacent ends and the sides of the pieces at both sides of the joints therebebacks of said pieces, and ametal back inclostween; and a metal back inclosing the backs ing the backs of such pieces and the ends of 10 of said pieces and the ends of said strip. said connector.

5 4. A comb comprising,abutting pieces In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe the adjacent ends of which are toothed, in my name, this 2nd day of Au st 1921. combination with a connector engaging teeth THOMAS Mo NOYES. 

